Andaleeb Lilley Photography

Sneak Peek for Gretchen and her family

A few weeks ago I had a studio shoot with photographer Gretchen Cusick and her family who were celebrating the arrival of their third baby girl.  Here is a little sneak preview for them - the older girls had some fun with balloons too ...

Article on Presenting your photos

I recently wrote the article below for the New Stork Times which is celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year - congratulations to the team!  For those who subscribe, the article below is on page 19 of this month's edition. 

Presenting your Photos  

It's a new year and I am guessing many of you have taken lots of photographs over the holiday season.  I am a big advocate of not just letting images sit on a CD or a hard drive and actively encourage people to produce albums, books and different types of wall art. Nowadays there are so many ways to present images, enabling everyone to find something they like and at the same time suiting every budget.  

Choice of presentations 

Framed prints are the traditional way of presenting images and many of my clients like to buy square multi-frames which can include up to 12 images.  These are great for families - a typical compilation would include a family image in the middle and then individual photographs of each member along with siblings grouped together and an image of the parents together. When selecting these, look at colours that blend together and select a frame which complements them or work with a framing shop that can provide a customised service ensuring quality and longevity. 

Images can also be printed in digital coffee table books and albums or put together as traditional albums with prints added individually. These are a wonderful keepsake for every member of the family and are lovely to leaf through together.  There is no doubt that technology has changed things but there is something nostalgic about looking through an album which holds so many dear memories and in the event of a fire, many still say they would save albums and nothing else.  There are many suppliers of online albums and, although these take time to do, they are worth the effort.  Another old-fashioned way is having printed images bound with ribbon in a beautiful box or mounted onto card. 

Wall art is another popular way of presenting images which can be mounted on glass, perspex, aluminium, wood, and even slate!  Images can be printed and stretched onto differing sizes and thicknesses of canvas - bespoke sizes are available. There are many options and certain images look better on some products. 

And of course there are digital files.  Slideshows can be put together and images shared with family and friends all over the world in a matter of seconds. Family websites are popular too and are a great way of keeping everyone in touch if you are abroad. Digital Frames are also a flexible way of changing and displaying images too. 

Personal reflections 

Each family is different and everyone has their own personal way of how they want to present their images. 

I am a little behind at the moment ... but what I personally do is print some images I can take with me if we go away (and the children love to look at them too).  I am about to print some family images for our walls and these will be framed - I have also picked one of each child when they were slightly younger to be stretched onto canvas.  Each year I also print a coffee table book the children keep in their room from the year and another is printed as a family album.  My children also love their own personal calendar too (as do the grandparents and godparents!)  

Many of these take time to put together and you can either do them yourself or consult a photographer who would be happy to discuss the options with you and advise you on which images look best on the assortment of products. 

 

Sneak peek of Baby Noah

Here is a sneak peek for a family who will be coming to the studio tomorrow to see images from their newborn shoot - really looking forward to showing them the rest! 

Sneak Peek for a new family

My first shoot of the year was a maternity shoot in the studio, and we managed it just in time as their baby boy arrived 10 days early!  He will be in the studio for his very first shoot next week along with his happy (but no doubt tired) parents... so here is a sneak peak image for his mum and dad as they haven't had a chance to see any of these yet... congratulations!! 

 

Favourite images of 2011 - part 1

It's hard to believe its 2012 already and I have been reflecting on what a year 2011 was for me and my business. 

I photographed many more corporate and charitable events as well as corporate portraits too - this included shooting at the Theater Casino in Zug several times, the Park Hotel in Zug, the Hallenstadion, the Mövenpick and Widder Hotels in Zurich as well as the prestigious Zunfthaus zur Meisen.  

I was asked to photograph different things which stretched me as a photographer too-I photographed at Zurich Fashion Days on the red carpet and catwalk which was a lot of fun. I also photographed a group of 65 employees standing on a ladder on a balcony at KKL (they were below in the forecourt...)  

I also now lead a photography group of women from the International Women's Club of Zug and it has helped me to learn more about photography by teaching them. I set up onsite studios at three events in Zug this year and photographed couples at gala events and families with Santa.  I also teamed up with photographer Ron Sumners and we continue to work on projects together and are sharing a bigger studio space as of January too.

I have continued to photograph even more families this year particularly from September onwards and the studio has become particularly popular with younger families especially when the fog descended as it tends to for a part of the year in Zug...

2012 will be a year for streamlining my systems, getting support but on the other hand continuing to hone my style and develop as an artist.  

So this just leaves me to say a huge thank you to my clients, suppliers, friends and family who have supported me throughout 2011 - see you in 2012!!  Here is part 1 of my review - these are from several outdoor family shoots which I have decided to concentrate on this post and showcase - part 2 will be families in the studio - enjoy!  

My first shoot of the year in the first few days of January was to capture this family with Grandad visiting from the US.  Shoot location:  Zug by the lake (and it was cold...) 

 

This shoot started at the couple's home in Wädenswil and then we continued outdoors - also on a very cold day in January!  

This very lively 18 month old was visiting her grandmother in Zug - I used some of my very rusty Russian on this shoot as she lives in Moscow ... 

 

This shoot with Tala took place in a small park in Zurich with several clothing changes - I have become quite good at spotting large shady trees to use as dressing rooms...

This little boy was a joy to photograph and his parents has just bought a basket which was the perfect fit for him... 

 

We had to seize the day for this family as the two older children are away studying in the US and were only back for a short time in the summer.  Location: Villette in Cham 

My first twins shoot of the year (and several were to follow) - there were lollipops and matching dresses... location: Villette in Cham  

 

Another family shoot at the ever-popular Villette in Cham - the challenge for me as a photographer is to choose different locations there to make the images look different for each family.  This time we had bubbles in the fields... 

 

My first twins pregnancy shoot in Zug... 

 

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... and here are the twin baby girls!  At their home in Central Switzerland. 

 

When I came to photograph this baby at home in Wädenswil, I also delivered a canvas from the family's pregnancy shoot earlier in January. 

 

On location at the family's home in Zurich with a three week old baby ... 

On location in Unterägeri by the lake - this little girl was adorable and loved her teddies... 

"Look Teddy - there's the world" 

 

 

 

 

 

December round-up

It's been a busy month and I have run out of time but I intend to do a review of some of my favourite images of the year soon.  The last three months have been spent on photographing families for images meant for Christmas presents (and card images).  I also photographed at two Christmas events for clubs I belong to in Zug. The first was for the International Mum and Kids Club where we once again set up a studio at their Christmas party and photographed families and children with Father Christmas. Some images below of a 2 year old who was a little scared of Santa but cheered up when he remembered he was getting a fire engine for Christmas... (keep scrolling for more images...) 

I also photographed at the Zug International Women's Club Dinner Dance which took place at the Park Hotel in Zug.  Once again, we set up a studio in one of the rooms at the hotel and I photographed over 50 couples on the night.  Here is an image of the Jensens who looked very festive that evening!  

I also took out a group of women from the club to photograph Christmas lights in Zug - see last blog post here. The Art Market at the Kunstambulatorium took place again in early December (held every 2 years and sponsored by Baar local council) and I exhibited three pieces of work along with over 30 artists. 

Families have been booking portrait shoots in and out of the studio - here are some festive images which have graced cards this year... (grandparents always very welcome too!) 

Images have not only been used for cards - I have been busy making sure many families have something special to open on Christmas day - this last week I have delivered albums, framed images, images mounted on glass, aluminium and canvas as well as boxes of mounted images ... it's been great to see people's reactions as they open their gift-wrapped orders. 

... and that leaves just me now to wish you all a wonderful Christmas/Holiday with your families and friends - here's one of my images I used on my own cards for families this year - it's a macro close-up of a christmas tree decoration.  Thanks for reading and for your interest in my blog - I have had a lot of fun writing it - more next week or next year! 

Photography tips for the holiday season

Here is an article which I wrote for the New Stork Times this month - if you are a subscriber, it's on page 19 of this month's edition.  Thanks to all subscribers for their interest! 

Photography Tips for Christmas 

The run-up to Christmas and the holiday itself is a great time to get your camera out and capture the atmosphere at this special family time. Here are some tips on capturing christmas decorations as well as photographing during the holiday.  

Photographing Christmas Decorations  

Depending on whether you are photographing decorations on a tree or a whole house on your street, the equipment you will need are a macro lens (or the macro mode on your camera), a wide angle lens and a tripod.  For outdoor decorations on houses at night - a tripod helps to make sure you don't have any blur.  If you do not own a tripod, put your camera into manual (M) use a higher ISO (try 800 but be aware that the higher the ISO the "grainier" the photo) and a low aperture (anything from 2.8-5.0) to allow in as much light as possible.  It is important though not to set a too low shutter speed as this is what will cause blur in the image (initially set the shutter speed to 1/50th of a second and then go down from there if the photo is too dark).  

Without a tripod the best way to photograph decorations is to time it so that you arrive at sunset / early evening although you will need to pick a house which put the lights on early before it is too dark. Photograph the house from a low perspective and include the sky to get the golden colours in the sky.  

Changing your AWB (auto white balance) to tungsten will make your lights the colour they are meant to be too (as christmas lights tend to be tungsten balanced).  Otherwise you may have an orange tint to them. 

The later it gets, the more the lights will sparkle - take several shots as the light changes.

When photographing decorations on a tree, make sure you also photograph other decorations around the house - tins of colourful sweets / baubles in a vase. Be careful to stand so that your reflection is not in the ornament though (unless you want this effect... one of my christmas cards from many years ago was exactly that although I was surprised at how many people didn't see me in the shot!)  With lights on a tree, try to "declutter" your shot and focus on one light/bauble and use a large aperture (2.8-5.0) to throw the background out of focus.  

Photographing Family at Christmas

Be prepared - prepare your camera bag the night before, load and pack extra batteries / a recharger, a flash and memory cards. 

Capture the preparation stages - putting up decorations, wrapping up gifts, setting the table, children in outfits, food preparation.  Photograph the room decorated before it is filled with people and then also when it is filled with people later (this can also be done with the decorated table - without people and then with them afterwards). 

Take the group photo when everyone has arrived and before chaos descends.  Use a big aperture (f11+) to make sure everyone is in focus. 

Capture the opening of gifts by switching your camera to burst mode  (continuous shooting  mode) as this a great way of capturing emotions (joy and sometimes disappointment) and the colour of Christmas day.

Set up an area where you can photograph all the guests - ideally the background would be red or have some decorations in it. 

Fill your frame and get closer to the subject to show emotion.  Declutter the background before taking the shot.

Give someone the responsibility of taking the photos if you are busy so that it doesn’t get forgotten. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Lights Photography with ZIWC

It's time to get some more seasonal and wintery images up on the blog as Christmas is only really 10 days away... this week I took at group of women out from the Zug International Women's Club to photograph Christmas lights in the old town in Zug.  We started off with a little theory on changing the Auto White Balance on our cameras to tungsten to really bring out the whiteness in the lights and darken the sky at twilight and to turn the flash off. As darkness fell, we changed settings again and played around with the ISO/Shutter Speed and Aperture dials.  Thanks to everyone for braving the rain and cold weather! Lucerne also looks amazing at this time of year so if you have time, make sure you go and see the lights!

 

 

 

Jelmoli Fashion Shoot

I recently worked together with journalist Tsitaliya Mircheva-Petrova on a feature article for the Christmas season for www.zurich4you.ch. We got together to photograph several outfits from designers featured at Jelmoli in Zurich.  Some of the images from the shoot can be seen here.  The shoot took place in an apartment in Zug and the images below are some of my personal favourites from the day.

Model: Daniela Schrüffer 

Arty+Sporty Teen Studio Shoot

I've had a very busy time recently photographing families in and out of the studio.  Families have been bringing sledges, toys, bobby cars and red clothes into the studio for Christmas shoots and we have been enjoying the mild autumn weather and leaves outdoors too.  Of course, photography shoots make lovely presents too - see here for more details.

Earlier this autumn I photographed Claire's family for a surprise birthday present for her husband.  I asked them to bring along any props to illustrate their hobbies and interests and they really took it on board!  We started off with some informal shots of them all whilst I asked them to do different things (play-fighting, piggy-backs) and then we got some of the props out to show what they like doing in their spare time.  The list of props included a cello, climbing equipment, ice-skates, Dr. Who items and a sketch book.  We also enacted two scenes the family wanted to do which they had taken in a studio when the first two were toddlers.  Ross will be going to base camp Everest next year and is looking for sponsorship so email me if you may be able to help!

Do you think Rosie has sketched her brothers before?  Maybe several times...?